Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Pockets and Poconos!

Shortly after I posted my first good-looking welt pocket - done on scraps - on Friday, I took a deep breath and made pockets on my pants...

Look, look! Welt pockets!

...And I am thrilled with how they came out!

Once I set my mind to it, and approached the whole thing in a calm and careful way, it all fell into place. I think Ann of Gorgeous Things really wrote a very thorough and top notch tutorial which guided me through it in exactly the right-for-me way. Honestly, some instructions have you pulling the whole pocket bag through the opening, flipping things inside out. Those methods just didn't work for me.

In the end, I would have to say that welt pockets aren't difficult, per se. They just require careful and meticulous attention to detail. And sharp scissors. I used serrated medical scissors, which seemed to allow me to cut to within one or two molecules of the stitching. LOL. It really helped.

Anyway, these trousers are nearly done, which is a very good thing since the Bottoms Up Challenge is winding down. So, expect photos soon.

Pocono Sew and Vac = New Toy for Me!
Yesterday, I took a road trip to Pocono Sew & Vac in Stroudsburg, PA to finally buy my very first serger! I really cannot say enough nice things about their friendly and knowledgeable staff. I've had a very good experience with them since buying my fabulous SM from them about 18 months ago.

My new toy!

After careful deliberation, I decided on the Brother 5234 that I first looked at in February. Most of yesterday afternoon was blissfully spent playing with this new toy. I threaded and unthreaded it (easy!), I serged a whole bunch of scraps (no tension issues or snafu's!!), and it made no mess since there is a (not-pictured) catch basin for the cuttings.

Now, there will definitely be a learning curve. I need practice "chaining off" the ends, I have no idea at this point why I would want to use a 3-thread overlock rather than a 4-thread one, and I have no idea what to do with the rolled hem stitch other than sew napkins (not likely). However, I'm incredibly excited to figure this all out and get going.

Hope you had a fun weekend, too! And if you have any suggestions on books or articles on sewing with a serger, let me know!